Science center as complementary learning environment towards inclusive mathematics education: An exploratory case field study

Abstract

Universeum is the national science center of Sweden and is located in Gothenburg. The role of a science center in the society is to inspire people to learn and engage with science and the subjects in STEM. Mathrix is a newly developed experience-based learning environment at Universeum that focuses on exploring mathematics in a relaxed manner to improve attitude towards the subject and challenge the perception of the subject being difficult in order to lower the common barriers to the subject. Several indications have been received by visiting teachers since the opening of Mathrix, that Mathrix could be a favourable learning environment for students that do not fit into the neurotypical part of the neurodiversity spectrum, which led us to investigating these indications further. The study was an exploratory case field study conducted in Mathrix with the aim to examine if and how Mathrix can function as a complementary learning environment to the traditional classroom environment. The study consisted of a series of interviews with the participating teachers and observation sessions with the teacher/student groups performing learning activities in Mathrix at two occasions. 5 teachers and 14 students participated in the study. A thematic analysis was used to categorise the data production in three parts: categorisation by students’ strengths and challenges, categorisation by learning situation theme and categorisation by learning theory. The findings shows that the learning environment in Mathrix together with the teaching organisation during the sessions can increase student engagement and interest in mathematics, contribute to higher self-efficacy in mathematics, and create favourable possibilities for scaffolding both by the teacher and between peers. The strong positive results regarding student engagement, self-efficacy and math performance may however partly be explained by the novelty of the environment, the situation, and beneficial small-group settings. Nevertheless, the Mathrix learning environment show high potential to function as a more productive learning environment than the classroom for this group of students. The conclusion of this study is that the learning environment in Mathrix together with the teaching organisation result in beneficial learning opportunities that can support the students in their mathematical learning in the classroom, thus making Mathrix a complement to the classroom environment in mathematics.